Dramatic video shows violent jewelry store robbery privateofficer.com

The robbers were caught on camera calmly strolling
into Jaeger-LeCoultre near East 62nd Street just before 11 a.m. Monday, then
suddenly whipping out a gun and ordering the three workers inside to hit the
floor.

One of the thieves keeps his weapon trained on
everyone inside while his cohort smashes several of the shop’s glass display
cases with a claw hammer, the video shows.

The hammer-wielding suspect first hits a rectangular
display case mounted on a wall, hacking away at its thick protective glass more
than 10 times before finally creating a big enough hole for him to fit his
gloved hand through.

He swipes two costly watches from the case before
moving on to a long countertop display.

It then takes at least eight hits with the hammer to
create a hole he can reach through and grab three more watches. At one point,
it appears the suspect may have cut himself while reaching in — stopping him
from swiping more, according to the video.

The thieves then coolly saunter out of the shop and
down Madison out of view with their loot of five watches worth $300,000.

“We have two, it appears, male whites,’’ NYPD Chief
of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters Tuesday. “They’re heavily wrapped up
— one has a pull-down hat, and you can’t make an identification on him.

“We’re going back to see if we can see them with a
better observation’’ from other possible surveillance footage down the street,
Boyce said.

The fact that the suspects were so heavily covered
up is hampering the investigation, sources said.

Both men were dressed in dark heavy winter coats and
hats and wore sunglasses with black scarves over the lower halves of their
faces.

The one with the gun wore a blue and white Yankees
cap, while the one with the hammer had a striped knit hat on his head.